Der Rattenfänger von Hameln

Der Rattenfänger von Hameln (The Rat-Catcher of Hamelin or The Piper of Hamelin) is a legend based on the disappearance of 130 children from the city of Hameln in 1284.

The Legend

There are many different stories about Der Rattenfänger von Hameln, but the most well known one is written by the Brothers Grimm. The folk tale says that the city of Hameln, Germany, was plagued with rats during the year of 1284. The citizens could not get rid of the rats and went to the mayor for some help. The whole town was meeting with the mayor, but he didn't know what to do. Then a mysterious man in brightly colored clothes said to the town that he could free them of the rats. The towns people turned to him and asked him how he would be able to do that. The man then pulled a pipe out of his pocket and told the citizens that his pipe would free them. All the citizens laughed at the Piper. But, the Piper said to them,"what would you pay me if I freed you of the rats?" The citizens made a deal with the Piper and promised him a certain price. The Piper began to play his pipe, and all the rats ran into the streets where he stood. The Piper began to walk toward the gate of the city, and the rats followed him. He then went into the Weser river, where the rats followed and drowned. All the towns people rejoiced, but did not think to pay the Piper. When the Piper came back to claim his payment, the mayor told him that getting rid of the rats was too easy and refused to pay him. The Piper then threatened the citizens that if they didn't pay him, he would return and collect his payment with their children. The citizens didn't take him seriously and laughed wildly as he walked away. The Piper returned on June 26, 1284 now dressed in huntsman clothing, and sounded his pipe in the streets of Hameln. This time children swarmed out of their houses and gather around the Piper. As the Piper played his pipe, the children followed him while dancing. The children followed the Piper through the gate, over the Weser river and disappeared into the mountains. When the towns people realized the children were missing they searched every where for them, but they weren't found. In total, 130 children were lost, but some say two lagged behind and came back. One of them was blind and the other was mute, so they weren't able to follow. The blind child could not point to were the children had gone, but was able to tell the citizens that the Piper came back, and the mute child couldn't hear or speak, but was able to point to where the children went. The citizens then realized their mistake of not paying the Piper and not taking his threat seriously. Until the middle eighteenth century the street through which the children were led out to the town gate was called "bunge-lose" (soundless, quiet) street, because no dancing or music was allowed there. The mountain near Hameln where the children were said to have disappeared is called Poppenberg. Some believed the children were led into a cave, and they appeared again in Transylvania. ^[1]

Accounts of the Legend/ Other Stories

• The citizens of Hameln recorded this event into the their town register: inscription in town hall:

In the year 1284 after the birth of Christ From Hameln were led away One hundred thirty children, born at this place Led away by a piper into a mountain.

• A gate was built and written on it was: This gate was built 272 years after the magician led the 130 children from the city
• in 1572 the mayor had the story portrayed in the church windows, but the print has become practically impossible to read. A coin was minted in memory of the children that Der Rattenfänger led away.
• 1803, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe references Der Rattenfänger legend in his story Faust, (Goethe's Faust)
• Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm, Brothers Grimm, created their version of the story called, the Deutsche Sagen (German Legends) in 1816.
• Robert Browning wrote a poem in 1849 that follows the Brothers Grimm story.
• Der Rattenfänger legend is also written in a poem by Marina Tsvetaeva, a Russian poet, call The Ratcatcher in 1925.

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Theories

• The children could have drowned in the Weser river or were killed in a landslide
• The children were diseased and led out of town to keep the rest of Hameln safe from catching the illness (possibly an early form of the Black Death)
• An earlier form of Huntingtons Disease
• The Children's Crusades, idea of children marching peacefully to the holy lands and crossing the Mederterrainian Sea, but didn't return home. Some say that the children were captured and sold into slavery
• Sydenham's Chorea, a disease that causes muscle spasms and mostly affects people under the age of 18.
• Emigration theory, during the 13th century Eastern Europe was being colonized and it is believed that children willingly left their homes to be founders of their own towns. This theory is the most accepted by modern scholars today.

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Remembering the Children

The City of Hameln has turned the legend of Der Rattenfänger into a major tourist attraction.

• Hochzeithaus "Marriage House"- This house was once used for celebrations, and it holds Der Rattenfänger's clock, and the Pied Pipers Pageant and the musical Rats is performed on its terrace.
  • Pied Piper Pageant- this is played every Sunday in May and it is a reanactment of Der Rattenfänger legend. This play includes a parade where the Piper leads the children out of the city.
• Pied Pipers House - this is not where the Piper actually lived. It was built in the early 1600s and is called the Pied Pipers house because there is an inscription referring to Der Rattenfänger legend written on it. This house has been a restaurant, with a Pied Pier theme, since 1966.
• Der Rattenfänger von Hameln is also grand opera

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Performance history Grand Opera

Der Rattenfänger von Hameln is a grand opera (Grosse Oper) in five acts by Viktor Nessler. The German libretto was by Friedrich Hofmann based on a romantic poem by Julius Wolff. The opera was first performed at the Neues Stadttheater in Leipzig, on 19 March 1879. The first performance in America was at the Thalia Theatre, New York on 28 April 1886 under John Lund.^[4]

The premiere in Vienna was given in 1897, which the critic Eduard Hanslick attended. He regarded the opera as over long and old fashioned.

Roles

Synopsis

This is the 13th century tale of Hunold Singuf, the "pied piper" who rids the town of Hamelin of its rats. Hunold is not suitably rewarded by the townspeople, and they pay a terrible price when he lures all the children away and they disappear.

Sources

• Casaglia, Gherardo (2005).[http://www.amadeusonline.eu/almanacco.php?Giorno=19&Mese=03&Anno=1879 "19 March 1879"]. Almanacco Amadeus (Italian).
• Franklin, Peter (1992), 'Rattenfänger von Hameln, Der' in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed. Stanley Sadie (London) ISBN 0-333-73432-7

References

External links

• Synopsis at Bob's Universe
• Review dated 7 February 2004 of production in Freiberg, Saxony